1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flash devices for cameras, and more particularly to flash devices for cameras in which a window from which flash light issues is oriented so that the long side of the window is perpendicular to the long side of the film format in the camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, a wide variety of improvements have been made to minimize the size of cameras. Of these, there is a proposal for changing the orientation of the rectangular window of the flash device to facilitate a further minimization of the size of the camera. FIG. 1(a) illustrates the conventional orientation of the window of the flash device, in which the window 2 of the flash device is disposed with its long side in coincidence with the lateral direction of the camera body 1. According to the aforesaid proposal, the window 2 is vertically erected as shown in FIG. 2(a), thereby the lateral length of the camera body is shortened. In this case, however, because the flash light distributing area of the flash device becomes longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, the matching of the flash light distributing area 4 with the photographic area 3, which has so far been established as shown in FIG. 1(b), is now broken as shown in FIG. 2(b), producing a problem that an under-exposure results in both of the side portions of the area of the film format 3.
An attempt has been made to spread the flash light distributing area more widely in the horizontal direction by changing the reflector of the flash device to a deeper shape in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. SHO 57-112330.
However, this method hinders the minimization of the size of the camera by an amount corresponding to the increase in depth of the reflector, and can not be said to be a very good idea.